Disposable cartridge for brewed beverages

ABSTRACT

A beverage cartridge includes a bottom wall and at least one sidewall forming a chamber in which a beverage can be prepared from a stored beverage product. The sidewall includes one or more pre-formed openings or openable portions that form exit paths for a prepared beverage upon the introduction of a liquid to the chamber. The pre-formed openings or openable portions are initially covered or sealed by a cover, and provide existing exit paths for prepared beverage upon removal or opening of the cover. The cover is manually removable by a user, or is openable in response to increased fluid pressure in the chamber. Optionally, a filter element is provided inside the cartridge for retaining a used beverage product inside the cartridge as a prepared beverage exits from the cartridge.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/313,257, filed Dec. 7, 2011, which claims thepriority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/440,604,filed Feb. 8, 2011, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cup-like containers forstoring dry or concentrated beverage product, and dispensing a preparedbeverage by injecting water or other fluid into the cartridge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Single-use beverage cups or cartridges typically contain a dry beverageproduct such as coffee grounds, tea leaves, or a dry beverageconcentrate (e.g. freeze-dried coffee crystals) or the like, such as foruse in single-serving beverage brewing machines. Depending on the typeof beverage product the cartridge contains, the cartridge may include afilter to prevent particles of beverage product from exiting thecartridge during a beverage-making operation. Such beverage cartridgesare typically pierced in one or more locations to inject water and todrain a resulting prepared beverage out of the cartridge and into areceptacle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a beverage cartridge having a bottom walland a generally cylindrical sidewall, the sidewall having at least oneopenable portion that opens to form an exit path for a preparedbeverage. The cartridge sidewall may be opened by applying a compressiveload to the sidewall, such as by moving a portion of the cup bottom walltoward an upper end portion of the sidewall. The openable portions ofthe sidewall may be, for example, apertures, slits, or slots that extendentirely through the sidewall, or they may be weakened portions of thesidewall that maintain the cartridge in a substantially sealed conditionuntil compressive loads are applied to split open the weakened portions.The beverage cartridge may allow for increased capacity of beverageproduct because substantially all of the interior space of the cartridgeis available for the beverage, regardless of whether an optional filterelement is included. Further, a used cartridge may be significantlydeformed and thus very noticeably different in appearance after use, ascompared to an unused cartridge, making it easy for a user to determineat a glance (or even by touch) whether the cartridge is used or unused.

According to one form of the present invention, a beverage cartridgeincludes a cup bottom wall, at least one cup sidewall having an opening,and a filter element. The cup sidewall extends upwardly from the cupbottom wall and has an upper end portion opposite the cup bottom wall.The cup bottom wall and the cup sidewall cooperate to form a chamber.The opening or openings in the cup sidewall provide one or more exitpaths for a liquid beverage. The filter element is disposed in thechamber and filters liquid beverage that is dispensed through the one ormore openings in the cup sidewall. Optionally, a removable cover isprovided along the cup sidewall to cover and/or seal the openings in thecup sidewall.

According to another form of the present invention, a beverage cartridgeincludes a cup bottom wall and at least one cup sidewall cooperating toform a chamber. The sidewall extends upwardly from the bottom wall andhas an upper end portion opposite the bottom wall, the sidewallincluding at least one openable portion. The cup sidewall is configuredto open at the openable portion to form an exit path for the contents ofthe chamber through the cup sidewall. The openable portion may be openedto form the exit path by applying a compressive load to the sidewall,such as by moving a portion of the cup bottom wall toward the upper endportion of the sidewall, which may crush or buckle the sidewall.Optionally, the cup bottom wall is made from a puncture andfracture-resistant material. Optionally, the openable portion of the cupsidewall is openable in response to increased fluid pressure in saidchamber. This fluid pressure may also help force liquid beverage outthrough the openable portion of the cup sidewall.

In one aspect, the cartridge includes a filter element positioned insidethe chamber defined by the cup bottom wall and the cup sidewall. Thefilter element includes a filter bottom wall and a filter sidewall toform a filter chamber for containing a beverage product. Optionally, thefilter walls closely conform to inner surfaces of the cup bottom walland the cup sidewall. An upper end portion of the filter sidewall may besealed to the upper end portion of the cup sidewall to prevent beverageproduct particles from escaping the filter chamber.

In another aspect, the beverage cartridge includes a top lid that issealed to the upper end portion of the cup sidewall, to seal the chamberfrom the outside environment. Optionally, the top lid is a pierceablemembrane, such as a multi-layer or laminate membrane including at leastone metal foil layer and at least one plastic film layer, such as apolyethylene layer.

In still another aspect, the openable portion of the cup sidewall is anaperture that extends completely through the sidewall. For example, theaperture could be a slit or a slot, or a hole extending through the cupsidewall to expose the chamber. Optionally, the cartridge includes aremovable cover around or along an outer surface of the sidewall forcovering the aperture(s) that form the openable portion or portions ofthe cup sidewall.

In yet another aspect, the openable portion of the cup sidewall is aweakened portion of the cup sidewall so that the cartridge chamber canremain sealed from the outside environment until the weakened portion isopened. Optionally, the weakened portion is a score line in the cupsidewall, which does not extend entirely through the sidewall.Optionally, the weakened portion is a reduced-thickness region of thecup sidewall.

In yet another aspect, the beverage cartridge includes a beverageproduct in the chamber. For example, the beverage product may be abrewed or non-dissolving beverage product contained in a filter chamber.

According to another form of the present invention, a method is providedfor preparing a beverage from a beverage product contained in acartridge. The method includes providing a beverage cartridge includingan outer cup that defines a chamber for containing the beverage product.The outer cup has a cup bottom wall, at least one cup sidewall extendingupwardly from the bottom wall, at least one openable portion in the cupsidewall, and a pierceable top lid that is sealed to an upper endportion of the cup sidewall, opposite the bottom wall. The methodfurther includes applying a compressive force to urge the cup bottomwall toward the upper end portion of the cup sidewall, or vice versa,thereby forming an opening in the cup sidewall at the openable portion.A fluid is injected through the top lid and into the chamber, where thefluid mixes with the beverage product to form the beverage. The beverageis dispensed from the chamber through the opening in the cup sidewall.Optionally, the opening in the cup sidewall is created via applicationof fluid pressure to the cup chamber, which fluid pressure may also aidthe beverage product in being discharged through the opening in the cupsidewall.

In one aspect, the method further includes providing a filter elementdisposed in the chamber of the outer cup, the filter element forcontaining the beverage product. The beverage is filtered through thefilter element just before the beverage is dispensed through the openingin the cup sidewall, and the beverage product itself is retained in thefilter element.

In another aspect, the step of applying the compressive force includessupporting the upper end portion of the cup sidewall and pressingupwardly on the cup bottom wall to cause at least a portion of the cupsidewall to buckle in the vicinity of the openable portion.

In a further aspect, the step of forming an opening in the cup sidewallat the openable portion includes splitting open a weakened portion ofthe cup sidewall.

Thus, the present invention provides a beverage cartridge that containsa beverage product in a substantially sealed chamber prior to theaddition of fluid and the extraction or dispensing of a preparedbeverage from the cartridge. The sidewall of the cartridge includes oneor more openable portions that open in response to the application ofcompressive loads to the sidewall, which may cause at least limitedcrushing, buckling, or similar deformations to the sidewall. Thecartridge can be adapted for use with brewed beverage product that iscontained in a filter inside the cartridge, or the cartridge may containdry or concentrated and dissolvable beverage product that simply mixeswith or dissolves in water or similar fluid to create a finishedbeverage without need for filtration. Although the cartridge maytypically be used in single-serving beverage applications, it will beappreciated that the cartridge may be scaled in size to providesubstantially any desired number of servings. Its space-efficient designalso allows for increased capacity, particularly for brewed beveragesutilizing a filter, to allow an increased quantity of beverage to beprepared from a relatively small package. Further, because the cartridgetypically undergoes extensive permanent deformation and opening of fluidexit paths in the sidewall during the beverage-making process, a usercan readily observe whether a given cartridge is used or unused.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes, and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a beverage cartridge in accordance withthe present invention, including a diagrammatic depiction of an initialstep in preparing a beverage with the cartridge;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the beverage cartridge of FIG. 1, in whichthe cartridge has been partially crushed to create openings in thecartridge sidewall;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the cup portion and filter elementof the beverage cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of a filter element;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of another beverage cartridge, including aremovable cover along the sidewall for covering pre-formed apertures inthe sidewall;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of a cartridge similar to that of FIG.5, but after crushing, and having a plurality of opened slits in itscrushed sidewall;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of another beverage cartridge, including aremovable cover along the sidewall for covering pre-formed slot openingsin the sidewall;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a cartridge similar to that of FIG. 7, butwith a removable cover having a pull tab;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of another cartridge similar to that of FIG.7, but with a removable cover having a bottom twist-tab; and

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of another beverage cartridge, including apressure-openable cover.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a beverage cartridge for storingand dispensing a beverage product and a method of making a preparedbeverage inside the cartridge, the prepared beverage being dispensedfrom the cartridge and into a beverage receptacle. Referring to FIG. 1,a beverage cartridge 10 includes a bottom wall 12, a generallycylindrical or frusto-conical upstanding sidewall 14 extending upwardlyfrom bottom wall 12, and a top lid or cover 16. It will be appreciatedthat the terms “upper” and “lower” are used throughout thisspecification with reference to the appended drawings, and are notintended to be limiting in any way. Bottom wall 12 and sidewall 14cooperate to form a cup-shaped container 15 that, when sealed with toplid 16, defines a sealed chamber 18 for storing a beverage product 20.Sidewall 14 defines a plurality of openable portions 22 that, in theillustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, are scored or reduced-thicknesslines or regions in the sidewall, but which instead could bethrough-holes or slits or openings that extend completely through thesidewall.

Sidewall 14 may be a relatively thin flexible wall having a lower endportion 14 a joined to a perimeter of bottom wall 12, and having anupper wall portion 14 b to which top lid 16 is attached. Openableportions 22 remain closed prior to use of the cartridge in order tomaintain beverage product 20 substantially sealed inside of chamber 18and isolated from the surrounding atmosphere. When openable portions 22are formed or configured as weakened score lines, these score lines maybe created using different methods such as die-cutting, laser-etching,or the like. Optionally, the openable portions 22 may be formed asreduced-thickness lines or regions that are formed during the sameprocess by which sidewall 14 is formed, such as a molding process. Inthe illustrated embodiment, openable portions 22 extend substantiallyall the way down to where lower end portion 14 a meets bottom wall 12,to maximize the drainage of prepared beverage from chamber 18.Substantially any number of openable portions may be used, althoughseven or eight openable portions or lines may be typical forsingle-serving beverage cartridges.

Thus, with openable portions 22 formed as weakened regions of sidewall14, the openable portions 22 remain substantially sealed during normalhandling of the cartridge 10, but are readily opened during abeverage-making process that involves compressing and/or bucklingsidewall 14 to induce localized stresses in the sidewall, thus causingat least some of the openable portions 22 to open (FIG. 2), as will bedescribed in more detail below. Optionally, the openable portions 22 mayopen in response to an increase in fluid pressure in chamber 18.Regardless of the manner in which openable portions 22 are opened, itwill be appreciated that any fluid pressure inside of chamber 18, whichexceeds atmospheric pressure, will tend to urge the beverage product outthrough the openings formed by openable portions 22. Thus, discharge ofthe beverage product may be accomplished through gravity flow and/orflow aided by fluid pressure in the chamber.

Optionally, openable portions 22 are made up of apertures 23, such asslits, slots, cuts, or the like, which extend all the way throughsidewall 14 (FIG. 6). A removable outer cover 25 (FIG. 5) may beprovided around at least the portions of sidewall 14 having apertures23. The outer cover 25 may be self-adhering and self-sealing along anouter surface of sidewall 14 to limit or prevent the exposure ofbeverage product 20 in chamber 18 to the outside atmosphere throughapertures 23. For example, outer cover 25 may be a foil and/or polymericfilm layer attached or sealed directly to sidewall 14 via a lightadhesive or sealant layer. Removable cover 25 substantially preventsoxygen and other gases and/or contaminants from entering or escapingfrom chamber 18 through apertures 23, and may prevent the escape ofbeverage product 20 from apertures 25, prior to the initiation of abeverage-preparation process. Prior to beverage preparation, a user canpeel away the removable cover 25 to expose the apertures 23, such asshown in FIG. 6.

Bottom wall 12 of cup portion 15 may be strengthened or reinforced,particularly as compared to sidewall 14, to resist fracturing orpuncturing during the application of mechanical loads by a compressionmember such as a pin or finger 27 (FIG. 2), or even a movable disc, thatcan be moved upwardly. For example, bottom wall 12 and sidewall 14 maybe unitarily formed in a molding process, with bottom wall 12 madesubstantially thicker than sidewall 14 to provide added strength.Optionally, bottom wall 12 may incorporate reinforcing fibers, an extralayer or coating of reinforcing material, or the like, to providesufficient strength to bottom wall 12.

Optionally, and as shown in FIGS. 1-4, beverage cartridge 10 can befitted with a filter member or element 24 that lines the interiorsurfaces of sidewall 14 and bottom wall 12. Upper end portion 14 b ofsidewall 14 forms an increased-diameter ledge or shoulder region 26 thatreceives an upper rolled or flared lip region 28 of filter member 24. Asbest seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, filter member 24 includes a filter bottomwall 30 and a filter sidewall 32, which generally correspond to the cupportion's bottom wall 12 and sidewall 14, respectively. Flared lip 28 isformed at the upper end of filter sidewall 32, and may be sealed toshoulder region 26 of sidewall 14 using a food-safe adhesive or sealant,to limit or prevent beverage product 20 from escaping filter member 24.As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, filter bottom wall 30 substantially linesbottom wall 12, and filter sidewall 32 substantially lines sidewall 14such that filter sidewall 32 extends substantially the full length ofthe interior of the cup sidewall 14 all the way to bottom wall 12, sothat there is little or no space between filter member 24 and the innerside or bottom surfaces of cup portion 15. This maximizes the availablespace in beverage cartridge 10 for beverage product 20. Thus, filtermember 24 defines a filter chamber 34 inside of chamber 18, which hasnearly the same volume or capacity as chamber 18.

It will be appreciated that when beverage product 20 is a non-dissolvingbeverage product such as ground coffee, tea leaves, or the like, filtermember 24 provides filtration for liquids injected into cartridge 10, sothat the beverage product solids are retained inside of filter chamber34 during the beverage preparation or brewing process. Filter member 24may be made from substantially any filter material, such as paper-basedfilter material that is commonly used for conventional disposable coffeefilters and the like. Optionally, a metallic or polymeric screen or meshmaterial may be used to form the filter member, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Filter member 24 includesa plurality of fold lines or pleats or flutes 40 in its sidewall 32,which increase the filtration surface area of filter member 24 (FIGS. 3and 4). Optionally, and instead of the generally slanted orspiral-shaped flutes 40 of FIG. 4, the filter member may be formed withgenerally vertically-aligned flutes or pleats, or with no pleats at all(such as to maximize the space available for beverage product within thefilter).

Top lid 16 is sealed at its outer perimeter region to the generallycircular upper end portion 14 b of sidewall 14. In the illustratedembodiment, top lid 16 is a pierceable sheet member that is appliedafter chamber 18 is filled with beverage product 20 and/or filter member24. For example, top lid 16 may be a thin laminate membrane made up ofat least one metal foil layer (such as aluminum) and optionally apolymeric film, such as a polyethylene layer, to enhance the strength ofthe top lid and/or to enhance its hermetic sealing properties. Top lid16 may be readily pierced by a fluid injection needle 42 or other fluidconduit, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Preferably, needle 42 is hollowand has an opening 44 through which fluid conducted along the interiorconduit of the needle may exit.

To prepare and extract a beverage from beverage cartridge 10, at leastone of the lower and upper end portions 14 a, 14 b of sidewall 14 ispushed toward the other to impart localized stresses in the sidewall 14near at least some of openable portions 22. These stresses causeopenable portions 22 to split or otherwise spread open, thus forming oneor more openings 46 (FIG. 2) that create exit paths for the liquidcontents of chamber 18. Beverage cartridge 10 may be installed in amachine that includes an annular top support 48 that engages at least anouter perimeter region of top lid 16 along upper end portion 14 b ofsidewall 14 (FIG. 2). The machine may further include injection needle42 and compression finger, projection, or disc 27, which move inopposite directions relative to one another, and to beverage cartridge10 and top support 48, during the beverage preparation process (FIGS. 1and 2).

Once beverage cartridge 10 is installed in the machine and top support48 is positioned as shown in FIG. 2, injection needle 42 may be moveddownwardly and through top lid 16 so that at least a tip portion 42 a ofthe injection needle 42 is positioned inside of chamber 18. Compressionmember or finger 27 is moved upwardly to engage and urge bottom wall 12upwardly (FIG. 2), which imparts stresses in sidewall 14 to createopenings 46 at openable portions 22. This may cause sidewall 14 tobuckle or otherwise deform, such as shown at reference numeral 50 inFIG. 2. It will be appreciated that compression member or finger 27 maybe moved to push bottom wall 12 upwardly relative to upper end portion14 b of sidewall 14 either before or after the downward piercing motionof injection needle 42. Optionally, the motion of both injection needle42 and compression member or finger 27 may be accomplishedsimultaneously. Once injection needle 42 pierces top lid 16 with its tipportion 42 a disposed in chamber 18, a fluid 52 such as hot or coldwater or a water-based mixture, is dispensed into chamber 18 via opening44 in hollow needle 42 to mix with beverage product 20.

Alternatively, openable portions 22 may be opened by a buildup of fluidpressure inside of chamber 18 due to injection of fluid 52 throughneedle 42 a, such that sidewalls 14 need not be buckled or compressedunder a compressive load to create the openings. In this case, top lid16 will be configured to substantially seal around injection needle 42as the tip portion 42 a passes through the lid, and top lid 16 will besufficiently secured to top portion 14 b of sidewall 14, so thatsufficient fluid pressure may be built up in chamber 18 to causeopenable portions 22 to split open under tensile stresses in thesidewall 14, and substantially without fluid leakage through top lid 16.Such buildup of fluid pressure would also facilitate the discharge ofbeverage through the openable portions, such as to provide more completedischarge of product (and/or to extract more flavor from coffee grounds,tea leaves, or other brewed beverage product), than would otherwiseoccur if the beverage were discharged out of chamber 18 via gravityonly.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, beverage product 20 is anon-dissolving product, such as coffee grounds or tea leaves, which arecontained within filter member 24, of which filter sidewall 32 isvisible through openings 46 in sidewall 14 in FIG. 2. As fluid 52 passesthrough beverage product 20, it forms a finished or prepared beverage54, which seeps out through filter sidewall 32 and openings 46. Preparedbeverage 54 is subsequently collected and directed into a beveragecontainer, such as a mug or carafe. After the beverage preparationprocess is complete, top support 48 may be raised so that beveragecartridge 10 may be removed from the machine and discarded. It will beappreciated that a dissolvable beverage product, such as dry coffee ortea crystals, flavored beverage powders, or the like, may also beprepared using the beverage cartridge 10 either with or without a filtermember, since the dissolvable beverage product would be expected tocompletely dissolve in the presence of fluid 52 and pass through afilter, if present.

It will be appreciated that the beverage cartridge and/or beveragemaking process may be varied from the above descriptions, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Forexample, the beverage cartridge may include a non-reinforced bottom wallthat is urged upwardly by a larger compression element such as a plateor disc sized similarly to that of the bottom wall. Optionally, a largerdisplacement member may be used to displace all or a portion of thebottom wall of the beverage cartridge during the beverage makingprocess, and it may even be desirable to provide a mechanism thatdisplaces the entire bottom wall of the cartridge toward the upper endportion of the sidewall, so that substantially the entire sidewall iscrushed or buckled, thus maximizing the area of the openings around thesidewall, and dispensing beverage substantially evenly through all ofthe openings, with minimal liquid retained in the cartridge after thebeverage is dispensed. Optionally, it will be appreciated that adisplacement member could displace the top of the cartridge toward thebottom wall, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 7, another beverage cartridge 110is structurally similar to cartridge 10, but includes a plurality ofslot-openings 123 around a sidewall 114. Slot-openings 123 define openareas or exit paths 146 in sidewall 114, which are covered by aremovable outer cover 125 prior to use of cartridge 110 for making abeverage. Thus, cartridge 110 may be used for preparing a beverage in asimilar manner as the method of preparing a beverage using cartridge 10,described above, but optionally without a crushing or compressing stepbecause once outer cover 125 is removed, exit paths 146 are open andexposed for discharging fluids. Removable outer cover 125 may be peeledaway from cup sidewall 114 prior to use of cartridge 110, such as bygripping an optional pull-tab 125 a (FIG. 8) and pulling to unseal cover125 from sidewall 114 and openings 123.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 9, another beverage cartridge 210may include a removable outer cover 225 that is sealed around a sidewall214, above a plurality of slot-openings 223. Outer cover 225 includesone or more twist-off gripping tabs 227 along a bottom wall 212 ofcartridge so that a user may grip cartridge near an upper end portion214 b of sidewall 214, and grip cover 225 at gripping tab 227, andremove outer cover 225 by twisting gripping tab 227 relative to sidewall214. The twisting motion may break open cover 225 at a seam or seal 229near upper end portion 214 b of sidewall 214, and/or similar seams orseals in the cover 225 along the sidewall 214 or bottom wall 212 ofcartridge 210. Removal of cover 225 exposes exit paths 246 through whichprepared beverage or fluid may be dispensed, without need for crushingor compressing sidewall 214.

Another beverage cartridge 310 is configured similarly to cartridge 210in that it utilizes pre-formed openings in a sidewall 314 and a sealedouter cover 325, but in the case of cartridge 310, removable outer cover325 is configured to open in response to fluid pressure inside ofcartridge (FIG. 10), rather than (or in addition to) being manuallyopenable in a separate step by a user. In the illustrated embodiment,outer cover 325 includes one or more frangible seams or seals orweakened portions 325 a, 325 b along sidewall 314 and/or a bottom wall312 of cartridge that includes pre-formed openings 323 with filterscreens, such as shown in FIG. 10. Optionally, the frangible seams orseals or weakened portions 325 a, 325 b are sealed with a dissolvablesealant that weakens in the presence of liquid introduced into cartridge310.

Fluid pressure is imparted to an interior of cartridge 310 by fluidinjection needle 42, which forces fluids (typically a brewing liquidintroduced through needle 42, plus air or other gas that is initiallysealed within cartridge 310) out through pre-formed openings 346 andbetween interior surfaces of outer cover 325 and exterior surfaces ofsidewall 314 and bottom wall 312. This imparts stresses to outer cover325 and may also cause initial swelling of the cover, causing the one ormore seams or seals or weakened portions 325 a, 325 b to at leastpartially open and thereby permit the prepared beverage or fluid toescape out of outer cover 325. Accordingly, the introduction of fluidpressure inside of cartridge 310 causes outer cover 325 to burst openand permit prepared beverage or fluid that exits pre-formed openings 346to pass out of the cartridge and into a beverage receptacle, withoutneed for crushing or compressing sidewall 314, and without need formanually removing cover 325.

Optionally, one or more beverage cartridges, each having one or morepre-formed holes or openings established in their respective sidewalls,may be overwrapped or collectively overwrapped in a substantially sealedand air-tight wrapper, such as a plastic film or foil or compositewrapper, a vacuum-sealed wrapper, a re-sealable wrapper, or the like.Individually or collectively-wrapped cartridges may include either ofthe beverage cartridges 110, 210, 310 described above, or may becartridges that are substantially similar to cartridges 110, 210, 310but without the individual removable outer covers 125, 225, 325. In thisway, one or two or more cartridges may be stored in a single air-tightwrapper, which is removed from the cartridge(s) prior to using the firstcartridge, so that the pre-formed holes or openings of the cartridgesare exposed to the surrounding air after the wrapping is opened.

Optionally, the overwrapping may be a re-usable and re-sealable wrapperthat can be used to store any unused cartridges. Although this mayexpose the beverage products contained in the unused cartridge to airand humidity for some time before a cartridge's use, particularly if theunused cartridge is stored in an unsealed condition, the time or amountof exposure (which may be expected to range from a few minutes toseveral days) may be relatively limited so that substantially little orno degradation of the beverage product occurs prior to brewing, eventhough the openings in the cartridge sidewalls have been exposed priorto the brewing process. In this way, cartridges having pre-formedopenings for discharging beverage product may optionally be producedwith a less costly overwrapping, rather than with individually removableouter covers such as those described above, and without significantlyaffecting the quality of the brewed beverage.

Thus, the beverage cartridge of the present invention provides arelatively inexpensive, space-efficient, and easy-to-handle device andmethod for making a prepared beverage, and which may provide an obviousindication (e.g. crushed sidewalls) when the cartridge is used andshould be discarded. The cartridge may be fitted with a filter elementfor retaining ground coffee, tea, or other beverage products within thecartridge chamber during a brewing process.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw, including the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A beverage cartridge comprising: a cup bottom wall; at least one cupsidewall extending upwardly from said cup bottom wall and having anupper end portion opposite said cup bottom wall, said cup bottom walland said cup sidewall cooperating to form a chamber; at least oneopening in said cup sidewall, said at least one opening providing anexit path for a liquid beverage; a filter element disposed in saidchamber, said filter element configured to filter the liquid beveragedispensed through said at least one opening in said cup sidewall; and acover disposed around said at least one opening and sealed to at leastone of said cup sidewall and said cup bottom wall; wherein said cover isopenable or removable to thereby permit the liquid beverage to bedispensed into a beverage receptacle.
 2. The beverage cartridge of claim1, further comprising a beverage product disposed within said filterelement in said chamber, wherein said beverage product is retained insaid chamber by said filter element during a beverage-making process. 3.The beverage cartridge of claim 1, wherein said cover comprises ametallic foil or polymeric film layer sealed directly to said cupsidewall.
 4. The beverage cartridge of claim 3, wherein said covercomprises a pull-tab configured to be grasped and pulled to unseal saidcover from said cup sidewall.
 5. The beverage cartridge of claim 4,wherein said pull-tab is disposed at an upper region of said cover. 6.The beverage cartridge of claim 3, wherein said cover comprises agripping tab at a bottom region of said cover below said cup bottomwall, said gripping tab configured to be twisted to unseal said coverfrom said cup sidewall.
 7. The beverage cartridge of claim 1, whereinsaid cover comprises an openable portion configured to open in responseto increased fluid pressure inside said cartridge.
 8. The beveragecartridge of claim 7, wherein said openable portion comprises at leastone chosen from a frangible seam, a frangible seal, and a weakenedportion.
 9. The beverage cartridge of claim 8, wherein said openableportion is disposed along said cup sidewall or said cup bottom wall. 10.The beverage cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a top lid sealedto said upper end portion of said cup sidewall, opposite said cup bottomwall.
 11. The beverage cartridge of claim 10, wherein said cover issealed to said cup sidewall below said top lid.
 12. The beveragecartridge of claim 1, wherein said opening in said cup sidewallcomprises a plurality of pre-formed openings.
 13. A beverage cartridgecomprising: a cup sidewall having upper and lower end portions; a toplid sealed to said upper end portion of said cup sidewall, said top lidand said cup sidewall cooperating to form a chamber; a pre-formedopening in said cup sidewall, said pre-formed opening providing an exitpath for a liquid beverage; and a cover disposed around said pre-formedopening and sealed to said cup sidewall, said cover comprising anopenable region; wherein said cover is openable at said openable regionto thereby permit the liquid beverage to be dispensed into a beveragereceptacle.
 14. The beverage cartridge of claim 13, wherein said coveris sealed around a periphery of said cup sidewall at said upper endportion, and extends around said lower end portion of said cup sidewall.15. The beverage cartridge of claim 14, further comprising a cup bottomwall at said lower end portion of said cup sidewall, said cup bottomwall cooperating with said top lid and said cup sidewall to form saidchamber.
 16. The beverage cartridge of claim 13, further comprising afilter element disposed in said chamber, said filter element configuredto filter the liquid beverage dispensed through said pre-formed openingin said cup sidewall
 17. The beverage cartridge of claim 13, whereinsaid openable portion comprises at least one chosen from a frangibleseam, a frangible seal, and a weakened portion.
 18. The beveragecartridge of claim 17, wherein said openable portion is configured toopen in response to increased fluid pressure inside said cartridge. 19.The beverage cartridge of claim 18, wherein said openable portioncomprises at least one chosen from a frangible seam, a frangible seal,and a weakened portion.
 20. The beverage cartridge of claim 13, whereinsaid cover comprises at least one chosen from (i) a pull-tab configuredto be grasped and pulled to unseal said cover from said cup sidewall,and (ii) a gripping tab at a bottom region of said cover below saidlower region of said cup sidewall, said gripping tab configured to betwisted to unseal said cover from said cup sidewall.